Annual Report 2014 - Discrimination and the Roma community

24 / 131

22
Discrimination and the Roma Community 2014
9. Salamanca. The media. Direct discrimination. The events section of the La Gaceta Regional de Salamanca
newspaper ran a story about a robbery in which the victims were Roma and the attackers Moroccan. The head-
line was: “Brutal robbery of a couple in a flat in Béjar to steal hashish and money.”
The motive of the attack was apparently to steal money and hashish.
The coverage by the media also appears discriminatory insofar as they illustrated the article about robberies and
vandalism with a photograph of people with physical characteristics typically attributed to the Roma community.
10. Salamanca. The media. Direct discrimination. A journalist from the Gaceta Regional de Salamanca wrote a
column entitled “Como el gitano del cerdo al hombro” (like the Gypsy with the pig over his shoulder), an opinion
article on the Bárcenas case.
The writer tries to draw a comparison between a joke about Roma and Guardias Civiles and the alleged attitude
adopted by Bárcenas in the famous case of corruption.
“With Bárcenas behind bars and gossipmongers on tenterhooks, the uproar caused by his imprisonment
has skyrocketed in response to the rumour (remember: rumours are the prelude to news) that a pen
drive containing hard information about illegal payments to politicians was about to go astray or had
already been ‘lost’, which would have knocked more than a few utterly corrupt and noteworthy figures
down a few pegs.
Remarkable data as opposed to empty words. Pablo Ruz, the trial judge in the Gurtel case, was ready to
pounce on some very incriminating evidence against Barcenas. Fraudulent transactions, imaginary firms,
sloppy paperwork. In response to the evidence, the accused would only be able to offer subdued and
diffuse explanations. Like the gypsy in the joke who was taken by surprise by a pair of Guardias Civiles
in the middle of the night carrying a pig over his shoulder: “What have you got there?” They asked. “Oh,
officers” he answered, “one hell of a fly that crawled up my back”. Over Forty-eight million Euros cannot
be siphoned off without leaving traces behind as they are moved from one account to another, from
Switzerland to the United States and from the United States to the other end of the world. Even when
discretely put out to graze, that many herds of bills must have left traces along the avenues of lies
and among the brambles of so much tinkering. Barcenas does not have a bright future and more than
a few of his beneficiaries are starting to sweat. On the recommendation of the Anti-fraud Prosecution
Service, the judge has decreed imprisonment without bail and, whether he speaks or not, continues to
leak papers or hide them, he is now behind bars in Soto del Real prison where the days drag on and the
nights weigh heavy, just one more inmate in the narrow underworld of prison.”
The issue of the social image of the Roma community is especially relevant because the perpetuation of neg-
ative prejudices and stereotypes in the public opinion has serious consequences on their access to the most
basic of citizen’s rights and only serves to reinforce social rejection and is not an image which reflects the
heterogeneous reality of this community.
11. Salamanca. The media. Direct discrimination. La Gaceta Regional newspaper of Salamanca ran a story un-
der the following headline: “A gang that stole 160 Iberian Guijuelo hams dismantled”. In the events section they
reported that a group of people were arrested for a robbery at a ham factory. Mention was made of the Roma
ethnic group to which the alleged assailants belonged. We must remember that this mention of ethnicity is
totally unnecessary since such personal information contributes nothing to the understanding of the news story
but does reinforce the negative image of the Roma community by associating it with crime.
12. Salamanca. The media. Direct discrimination. An article was run under the following headline in the digital
version of a Salamanca newspaper, i.e. : “Gypsies are the greatest spendthrifts: when
they have it, they spend it.”
The mention of ethnicity in this article is an inaccurate generalisation insofar as it simplifies Roma diversity and
reduces this community to single stereotype linked to waste of money. Such stereotypes contribute to the
persistence of these incorrect beliefs with regard to the Roma community.